“Every one has heard of the Ibis, the bird to which the ancient Egyptians paid religious worship; which they brought up in the interior of their temples, which they allowed to stray unharmed trough their cities, and whose murderer, even though involuntary, was pnished by death; which they embalmed with as much care as their own parents.” (CUVIER 1831)

By studying the artificial mummified remains of animals recovered from Egyptian tombs French naturalists hoped to clarify a fundamental question: can animal species change over vast periods of time?